Re-imagining Desire and Sexuality in the Work of Hanif Kureishi Andreas Athanasiades ...

215 Pages·2016·1.66 MB·English

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Department of English Studies
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Re-imagining Desire and Sexuality in the
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Work of Hanif Kureishi

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e Andreas Athanasiades
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A Dissertation Submitted for the Award of the PhD
Degree at the University of Cyprus

June, 2013
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©Andreas Athanasiades
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Validation Page
 Doctoral Candidate: Andreas Athanasiades

 Title of Dissertation: Re-imagining Desire and Sexuality in the Work of Hanif
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Kureishi
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 This dissertation was submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements dof the PhD
programme in English Literature and Comparative Cultural Studies in the
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Department of English Studies and was approved by the members of the
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Examination Committee on April 16, 2013.
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 Examination Committee:
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Internal Members
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Stephanos Stephanides, Professor, Department of English Studies, University of
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Cyprus (Research Supervisor).
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Maria Margaroni, Associate Professor, University of Cyprus (Committee Chair).

Antonis Balasopsoulos, Associate Professor, University of Cyprus.

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External Members
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Pablo Mukherjee, Associate Professor (Reader), University of Warwick, UK.
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Stavros Stavrou Karayanni, Associate Professor, European University, Cyprus.

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Σελίδα Εγκυρότητας
 Υποψήφιος Διδάκτορας: Αντρέας Αθανασιάδης

 Τίτλος Διατριβής: Η Επαναδιαπραγμάτευση των Εννοιών της Επιθυμίας και της
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Σεξουαλικότητας στο Έργο του Hanif Kureishi
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 Η παρούσα Διδακτορική Διατριβή εκπονήθηκε στο πλαίσιο των σπουδώdν για
απόκτηση Διδακτορικού Διπλώματος στο Τμήμα Αγγλικών Σπουδών, στο
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πρόγραμμα Αγγλική Λογοτεχνία και Συγκριτικές Πολιτισμικές Σπουδές και
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εγκρίθηκε στις 16 Απριλίου 2013.
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 Εξεταστική Επιτροπή:
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Εσωτερικά Μέλη
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Στέφανος Στεφανίδης, Καθηγητής, Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου (Ερευνητικός
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Σύμβουλος).
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Μαρία Μαργαρώνη, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια, Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου
(Πρόεδρος Επιτροπής).

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Αντώνης Μπαλασόπουλος, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου.
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Εξωτερικά Μέλη
rPablo Mukherjee, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής (Reader), Πανεπιστήμιο Warwick,
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Βρετανία.

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Σταύρος Σταύρου Καραγιάννης, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Ευρωπαϊκό
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Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου.
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Abstract
This dissertation provides an examination of Hanif Kureishi’s work, focusing on the
shifting and polyvalent manifestations of desire and sexuality within the social and cultural
realms during the last three decades in Britain, and the way in which these manifestations
operate ideologically. With the transitional and critical period of 1980s Britain as a starting
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point, Kureishi’s narrative representations open up spaces in the British cultural landscape
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to include –intentionally– the marginalised and politically disenfranchised. The dynamics
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of racial and sexual identity in Britain are explored, primarily drawing on postcolonial
theory, with the basic contention that Kureishi’s work interrogates hegemonic discourse on
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the formation of identities in Britain. By critically examining Kureishi’s characters in
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literature and film, desire and sexuality are re-imagined as a measns of disrupting ongoing
discussions on identity and the nation, and re-inventing others on a range of questions that
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pertain to the South Asian diaspora in Britain. These questions gesture to the complex
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constitutions of diasporic identity/ies as well as to the way in which, supposedly
conflicting, entities can engage in a difficult anad complex, yet fruitful relationship, thus
enabling them to avoid what are considered by the mainstream as “social abnormalities”.
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Kureishi’s “queer” characters disrupt seemingly uniform spaces and subvert traditional
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understandings of nation and ideas of belonging in Britain, and allow affective terms, such
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as desire, to be used to re-imagine the nation. Kureishi’s work (visual and textual) is
deliberately placed alongs ide the author’s own development as a postcolonial subject
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performing his racialised identity and employing his unique artistic potential in a post-
imperial metropolias. Given that the circumstances of his personal life are –more often than
not– tangential with all of the political, social and theoretical parameters with which his
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work is concerned, the interaction between Kureishi’s different identities as a person and
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as a writer proves to be significant as he is read as an cultural instigator and hence, as an
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influential contributor to contemporary culture.
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Περίληψη
Η παρούσα διατριβή εξετάζει το έργο του Hanif Kureishi, επικεντρώνοντας στις
μεταβαλλόμενες και πολυσήμαντες έννοιες της επιθυμίας και της σεξουαλικότητας, όπως
αυτές λειτουργούν μέσα στην κοινωνική και πολιτική σφαίρα της Βρετανίας των
τελευταίων τριάντα ετών, καθώς και στον τρόπο με τον οποίο οι έννοιες αυτές
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λειτουργούν σε μια ιδεολογική διάσταση. Παίρνοντας ως σημείο έναρξης τη μεταβατική
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και κρίσιμη περίοδο της δεκαετίας του 1980, οι αφηγηματικές αναπαραστάσεις του
Kureishi δημιουργούν χώρους στο Βρετανικό πολιτισμικό πεδίο που συνειδητdά και κατ’
επιλογήν περιλαμβάνουν τους πολιτικά περιθωριοποιημένους. Με βάση τη μετα-
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αποικιακή θεωρία, εξετάζονται οι δυναμικές της φυλετικής και σεξουαλικής ταυτότητας
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στη Βρετανία, με τη βασική παραδοχή να είναι ότι το έργο του Kureishi αμφισβητεί
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ηγεμονικές αφηγηματικές πραγματείες που αφορούν τη δημιουργία των ταυτοτήτων στη
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Βρετανία. Εξετάζοντας κριτικά τους χαρακτήρες του Kureishi τόσο στο γραπτό λόγο όσο
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και στον κινηματογράφο, βλέπουμε πως οι έννοιες της επιθυμίας και της σεξουαλικότητας
αναδιατυπώνονται ως τρόποι αμφισβήτησης των κατεστημένων αντιλήψεων της
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ταυτότητας και του έθνους, αλλά και ως τρόπος επανεφεύρευσης άλλων τρόπων
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αντίληψης της θέσης της Νοτιοασιατικής διασποράς στη Βρετανία. Αυτά τα ερωτήματα
συγκλίνουν προς την κατεύθυνση τηtς αποδοχής της πολύπλοκης φύσης των διασπορικών
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ταυτοτήτων καθώς και προς τον τρόπο με τον οποίο υποθετικά συγκρουόμενες οντότητες
μπορούν να εμπλακούν σε μια δύσκολη και πολύπλοκη μεν, αλλά και γόνιμη σχέση, κάτι

που τους επιτρέπει να πsαρακάμψουν την ιδεολογική ετικέτα της «κοινωνικής ανωμαλίας».
Οι «queer» χαρακaτήρες του Kureishi διασπούν φαινομενικά ομοιόμορφους χώρους και
υπονομεύουν παραδοσιακές αντιλήψεις της έννοιας του έθνους και των ιδεών που
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αφορούν το «ανήκειν» στη Βρετανία, επιτρέποντας σε «διαθετικούς» όρους, όπως η
επιθυμίrα, να χρησιμοποιηθούν ούτε ώστε να επαναπροσδιοριστεί ή έννοια του έθνους. Το
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έργο του Kureishi (οπτικό και κειμενικό) εξετάζεται σκόπιμα παράλληλα με την εξέλιξη
nτου συγγραφέα ως μετα-αποικιακού υποκειμένου, ερμηνεύοντας την ίδια στιγμή την
φυλετική του ταυτότητα και αξιοποιώντας τις καλλιτεχνικές του προοπτικές σε μια μετα-
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αυτοκρατορική μητρόπολη όπως είναι το Λονδίνο. Δεδομένου ότι οι συνθήκες της
προσωπικής του ζωής είναι συχνά εφαπτόμενες με όλες τις πολιτικές, κοινωνικές και
θεωρητικές παραμέτρους με τις οποίες καταπιάνεται το έργο του, η αλληλεπίδραση μεταξύ
του Kureishi ως ατόμου και ως συγγραφέα, αποδεικνύεται εξαιρετικά σημαντική, καθώς
μπορεί να ερμηνευτεί ως υποκινητής πολιτισμικών τάσεων και ρευμάτων και, άρα, ως
ένας καλλιτέχνης που όχι μόνο συνεισφέρει, αλλά και επιδρά ως καταλύτης στον
σύγχρονο πολιτισμό.
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Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Professor Stephanos
Stephanides, my advisor and mentor. I am indebted to him for his generosity with time,
advice, ideas, patience and personal involvement. This piece of work could never have
been completed without his constant support and guidance. I also wish to express my
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sincere appreciation to Dr Stavros Stavrou Karayanni, not only for his valuable
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suggestions, help, and intellectual guidance but also for his enthusiasm and moral support.
I also thank the other members of the Department of English Studies who haved guided me
in my research, Dr Antonis Balasopoulos and Dr Maria Margaroni, as well as the staff at
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the University of Cyprus for their help in every aspect of the process of completing the
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present thesis. I would also like to express my love and appreciation to my parents,
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Evagoras and Toula, for their constant support. Finally, I would like to thank my wife,
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Chryso, my biggest supporter, for sharing my dreams and for being a valuable asset to this
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project with her encouragement and understanding during all these years. This work is
dedicated to my firstborn son, Jason, who changed my world.
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Contents
Abstract ................................................................................................................................... i
Περίληψη ............................................................................................................................... ii
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... iii
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Chapter I ................................................................................................................................ 1
Situating Hanif Kureishi ..................................................................................................e...... 1
The Thatcherite 1980s .................................................................................................................. 13
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Theorising Desire and Sexuality .................................................................................................. 19
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Queering Kureishi ........................................................................................................................ 27
Chapter II .............................................................................................i................................ 39
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Hanif Kureishi and the Raj Revival ..................................................................................... 39
Raj Revival Productions ...............................................................a................................................ 41
Voices Against the Raj Revival Genre ......................................................................................... 54
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Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 60
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Chapter III ............................................................................................................................ 63
My Beautiful Foreigner: Racialised Desire hin My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) ................. 64
Irony, Parody, and the System ..................................................................................................... 68
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The Characters: Criticism and Reception..................................................................................... 73
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Diasporic Intimacy: The Body as a Site of Historical Conflicts .................................................. 78
Multiplicity and Heterogen eity: Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (1987) .......................................... 87
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Chapter IV ............................................................................................................................ 92
Sexual Experimentaation in The Buddha of Suburbia (1990) ............................................... 92
Karim and Hanif: A Sexual Autobiography ................................................................................. 94
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Cultural Commodification and Identity Disorder ........................................................................ 99
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Sex and the City: Mobility of Characters ................................................................................... 104
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Performativity: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man ........................................................... 108
nEnd of an era .............................................................................................................................. 115
Chapter V ........................................................................................................................... 120
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Sexuality and Religion: Kureishi’s Later Work ................................................................ 120
Violence and Sexuality in My Son the Fanatic (1997) .............................................................. 121
“Third Way Out”: Sexual Expression and Identity in The Black Album (1995) ....................... 130
Reception and Criticism of The Black Album ........................................................................... 137
Chapter VI .......................................................................................................................... 142
A “Failed” Sense of Intimacy: Re-thinking Desire ........................................................... 142
“Failure” of Desire: Past and Present in Intimacy (1998) .......................................................... 144
A Young Kureishi: Gabriel’s Gift (2001) .................................................................................. 152
Identity, Desire and Postmemory: Writing the Self in My Ear at His Heart (2004) .................. 156
An Ageing Kureishi: Difficult Pleasures ................................................................................... 171
Chapter VII ........................................................................................................................ 176
Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 176
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Bibliography ...................................................................................................................... 193
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Filmography ....................................................................................................................... 206
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1 

Chapter I

Situating Hanif Kureishi

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The present dissertation focuses on the way desire and sexuality operate socially
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and ideologically in the work of Hanif Kureishi. I argue that the novels and films in this
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study re-imagine desire and sexuality as means of disrupting ongoing discussions about
identity and the nation and re-inventing others on a range of questions thaat pertain to the
South Asian diaspora in Britain, such as what constitutes a diasporic identity and how
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supposedly conflicting entities can engage in a difficult and complex, yet fruitful
relationship, thus evading what are considered by athe mainstream as “social
abnormalities”. I specifically read desire as an unconscious power that has revolutionary
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qualities and, therefore, social and political potential. Jacques Derrida’s notion of desire
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pertains to a state of lacking (something), so when one eventually obtains that which one
did not have and one had longed for, desire ceases to be a “lack” and therefore, it is not a
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desire anymore; by its very nature then, desire is unrealisable. It is important to note the
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connection between desire and society here, as desire is already invested in social
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formation, which is what creates that interest; in turn, that creates the sense of lacking.
Insofar as I am interested i n the way desire actually produces reality, and moving beyond
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the psychoanalytic view of desire as “lack”, for the purposes of this thesis I put forward a
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different view, one based on Deleuze and Guattari’s idea in Anti-Oedipus, that desire is not
to be identified with “lack”, but rather with production, in the social field. Deleuze and
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Guattari analyse the relationship of desire to reality and in particular, to capitalist society,
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addressing questions pertaining to history, society and human psychology: for Deleuze and
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Guattari, desire produces reality. This idea is the basis of my examination of Hanif
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Kureishi’s work, as the author emerged amidst the capitalist society that the Thatcherite
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(Anti-Oedipus 4). After all, the entire socio-political field can be seen as a product of desire
which is historically determined (Anti-Oedipus 18). To move this idea further, I attempt a
coming together of the theories of Deleuze and Guattari and Brian Massumi as far as desire
is concerned in that this anarchic state of desire can be explained by bringing the concept
of affect into the discussion. Massumi has argued that the affect is a non-conscious
experience of intensity, a moment of unformed and unstructured potential which is
anarchic and therefore not limited (Parables for the Virtual 30). It is my belief that not